Farmers welcome focus on supply chain

 
NSW Farmers has welcomed the Coalition’s announcement of a Supply Chain Commissioner if re-elected on March 25.

Improving and better connecting road and rail infrastructure was one of the peak agricultural body’s key election priorities, and NSW Farmers Grains Committee chair Justin Everitt thanked Premier Dominic Perrottet for backing it in.

“It is critical we have fit-for-purpose road, rail and port infrastructure to get food and fibre from farm gate to dinner plate,” Mr Everitt said.

“At the moment we have a lot of inefficiencies in the supply chain that are resulting in higher prices for consumers.

“Farmers are often left scratching their heads when they see the produce they sold for cents a kilo retailing for dollars a kilo.”

Polling commissioned by NSW Farmers revealed the cost of living was the biggest issue that would sway voters at the upcoming state election, with two-thirds of those polled saying the cost of food and groceries was their number one concern.

Mr Everitt said getting efficient connections from farms to processors, distributors and retailers would help bring food costs down, but the work of the Supply Chain Commissioner needed whole-of-government support.

“This commissioner will need to be properly resourced and taken seriously if the role is to have real impact; we know commissioners are only as good as decision makers allow them to be,” Mr Everitt said.

“There have been some promising announcements about improving road and rail infrastructure already, but there are also opportunities to better support agricultural production.

“Ultimately it’s farmers who grow the food and fibre every one of us needs, and prioritising positive agricultural policies will be key to bringing prices down.”
  
• Click here to view the NSW Farmers election platform